Editor's Note

The Charge

You will feel the power. Live the adventure. Experience the fantastic.

Opening Statement

The master of stop-motion miniatures, Ray Harryhausen (One Million Years B.C.), and his
producing partner in crime, Charles Schneer (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad), ride
off into the sunset with a career-capping cult classic. Yes, there is a fair
amount of kitsch on display. Yes, some of the visual effects appear woefully
antiquated. And yes, Warner Home Video phones in this Blu-ray release. But
Clash of the Titans (1981) more than earns its place in the hearts and
minds of folklore, myth, and legend fans around the world.

Facts of the Case

What is a bored throng of Greek gods to do to keep themselves entertained?
Why manipulate mortals as disposable playthings, of course. And since none of
the lesser gods and goddesses hold an unwavering love for Zeus (Sir Laurence
Olivier, Richard III)—Hera
(Claire Bloom) is tired of his sleeping around, Thetis (Dame Maggie Smith) is
pissed he turned her son into a monster, Athena (Susan Fleetwood) will never
forgive him for ordering to give up her pet owl, and Hephaestus (Pat Roach) just
hates the man—this latest game turns into a strategic chess match, with
the fate of Zeus' son Perseus (Harry Hamlin, Veronica Mars) and his lady love
Andromeda (Judi Bowker) hanging in the balance. Can this mere human sidestep
Olympian traps and challenges to emerge victorious and rescue his beloved from
certain death?

The Evidence

Before hanging up their shingle and calling it a career, the two men who gave
us more than 25 years of eye-popping fantasy adventures decided to deliver just
one more, this time tackling the ethereal and oft-vindictive residents of Mount
Olympus. Clash of the Titans is a worthy successor to It Came from Beneath the Sea, Mysterious Island, and the Sinbad
franchise. Characters like Medusa, The Kraken, Calibos, and Bubo remain highly
recognizable cinematic icons, so much so that Hollywood's remake machine will
churn out a 2010 update. It's a testament to the creative vision of Harryhausen,
Schneer, and the team they assembled for for this project, even if they don't
fire on all cylinders.

English screenwriter Beverly Cross, who worked with Harryhausen on Jason and the Argonauts and
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, draws from a buffet of Greek mythology
to craft this adaptation of Perseus' story. While the core of this legend
remains in tact—cast out as an infant by his paranoid grandfather, King of
Argos; slayer of the gorgon Medusa (to save the life of his beloved, rather than
fulfill a promise to King Polydectes) with knowledge from three blind women
(here referred to as the Stygian witches, rather than the Graeae sisters) and
the gift of an enchanted sword, shield, and helmet; savior of and betrothed to
Andromeda using the head of Medusa (to destroy the Kraken, rather than fulfill
an oracle's prophecy). Other elements such as Calibos and Pegasus were brought
in to serve this Odysseyan-like cinematic adventure. The funny thing is my
memory fused in a few additional challenges from other mythology pictures,
leaving Clash of the Titans a bit brisker in plot and pace than I
remember.

Quick digression on Pegasus: Far be it for me to make an Avatar reference, but Perseus' taming of
the legendary winged horse quickly brings to mind Sully's bonding with his Na'vi
banshee. Just an observation. Something to look for.

Desmond Davis cut his directorial teeth in British television, so it's no
surprise that the film has a small screen sensibility. Aside from Harryhausen's
expertly choreographed stop motion battle sequences and cinematographer Ted
Moore's (The Golden Voyage of Sinbad) grand establishing shots, the
character moments are quite intimate and minimalist. One could argue there's
even a big budget Star Trek: The Original
Series or Doctor Who feel to it
all, despite being filmed on location throughout the UK, Spain, Italy, and
Malta.

There's still plenty of joy to be found in seeing Sir Laurence Olivier and
Dame Maggie Smith verbally spar over the fates of these mortals. Despite being
ill at the time, Olivier never shows it, and Maggie—who we know best today
as Professor McGonagall from the Harry Potter series—proves just
why she's had such a long and illustrious career. Top that with another scene
stealing performance courtesy of Burgess Meredith. Hard to believe they were
going to turn him away in favor of a British actor. Doctor Who's Neil
McCarthy savors every moment as Thetis' mutated son Calibos, punished by Zeus
for killing all but one of his prized winged horses. McCarthy is only shown in
closeups, as Harryhausen takes over Calibos' full body action in stop motion
miniature. Judi Bowker is delightful as the captive Princess Andromeda. And then
we come to Harry Hamlin; exotic looking beefcake who does well enough to keep
the film from devolving into Steve Reeves Hercules territory, but wasn't
destined to win any awards for his performance.

Presented in 1.77:1 widescreen, the image quality of this VC-1 1080p
transfer varies wildly from scene to scene. When the sky is clear and the sun
shines brightly, the depth of detail and clarity is impressive, but low light
scenes drown in a sea of heavy grain and the color palate washes out quite
easily. Like the video presentation, the DTS-HD audio is not anywhere near what
we're used to seeing from new releases and big budget restorations. While Warner
has plussed the previous DVD release, the sound quality is only as good as its
nearly 30 year old source. The dialogue is crisp and but the hearty low-end mix
a film like this deserves just isn't here. On the upside, Laurence Rosenthal's
regally robust and sometimes bombastic musical score sounds better than ever.
Now there have been recent reports of audio problems with the DTS-HD track, but
that may be more a case of PS3 owners unaware that the console rather than their
home theatre receiver does the decoding. I've enclosed a link to EndGaget's
step-by-step instructions for establishing the proper PS3 settings, in the
"Accomplices" section on the sidebar. Bottom line: as long as you
don't go in expecting miracles, you'll find enough to appreciate about this HD
upgrade.

What you won't appreciate is the ridiculous absence of bonus materials.
Either Warner Bros. is holding out for the Clash of the Titans (2010)
Blu-ray release or it's sheer laziness, but aside from the five minute reboot
"sneak peek" you've doubtlessly seen in many other places, the 22
minutes worth of featurettes from the 2004 DVD release are basically one long
conversation with Ray chopped into bite size segments. This being another Blu
Book release, we also get 40-page booklet bound into the hard cardboard
keepcase, with character, cast, and crew bios, production photos, and some
background on the film. Warner execs must think they can fool us into believing
they actually put some time and effort into this. Fat chance. They are able to
misdirect our frustration with $7.50 in MovieCash for the theatrical remake, but
that only works if you have a participating theatre near you.

Closing Statement

When all is said and done, it's Harryhausen's legacy that defines Clash of
the Titans. You certainly can't place it next to advanced visual
masterpieces of today, but for its time this was a master class on stop motion
puppetry and in-camera practical effects. And without movies like these,
filmmakers such as James Cameron, Tim Burton, George Lucas, and Henry Selick
might very well have gone into another line of work. For that alone, movie
lovers owe Harryhausen a debt of gratitude.